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Chapter 427 Declaration of War
At nightfall.

Hua Niangzi, Hanlu, and Cangle had already returned, but Old Man Li was nowhere to be found.

Zhou You had no choice but to do it himself—he had only been the so-called leader of the alliance for less than a day, and apart from Cang Le, he was still practically a lone commander.

Finally, he found the two in an alley.

Moreover, it seems they are arguing about something.

Old Man Li looked indignant, as if he might take action at any moment, while Xiao Dushui had a bitter smile on his face, constantly trying to comfort him.

Upon seeing Zhou You enter, the argument ceased. Xiao Dushui cupped his hands in greeting and then spoke sincerely.

"Then I'll leave it at that, and I hope Manager Li will give it much consideration."

"I'll consider you, you bastard!"

Old Man Li cursed indignantly on the spot, but Xiao Dushui didn't take it to heart at all, and simply let it go without complaint. When he passed by, he even gave a curtsy.

"I have met Fellow Daoist Zhou. My sect leader specifically instructed me before descending the mountain that if Fellow Daoist Zhou is finished with his business here and is not too busy, he hopes that you can take some time to visit the mountain gate. At that time, the entire Shangqing Sect will welcome you with open arms."

"Uh..."

Zhou You scratched his chin and inexplicably agreed, while Xiao Dushui bowed again before leaving with his Taoist apprentice.

That manner didn't seem to be directed at a subordinate, or even a peer, but rather...
It's like a grand-disciple bowing to their master.
Strange, I'm quite certain, even 100%, that I have absolutely no connection with the Shangqing Sect, so why are they being so respectful to me?

Zhou You was completely bewildered until Old Man Li walked over with an indignant look on his face. Only then did he put his question aside and ask.

"Hey, Master, what were you arguing about just now?"

Old Man Li immediately started cursing.

"What's all the noise about? It's that bastard who came over and told you to switch sects!"

Zhou You felt even more confused.

"Why change sects and factions?"

"How would I know!" Old Man Li spat, spitting as he spoke. "That bastard said you have a connection with their Shangqing Sect and hopes our White Gate can give you up. They're willing to give me a thousand taels of gold as compensation and find ten more disciples with good aptitude to inherit my lineage."

The preferential treatment in these terms even made Zhou You click his tongue in amazement.

"Hiss, a thousand taels of gold, that's nearly ten thousand taels of silver! You didn't agree?"

Old Man Li immediately spat.

"You're my disciple, the one I've passed on my torch to through generations. You think you can sell me for a mere thousand taels of gold? He might double the price, I don't know."

"Would two thousand taels of gold be enough?"

Old Li fell into a brief silence before answering with great uncertainty.

Do I look like that kind of person to you?

However, he was thick-skinned and quickly brushed it off, asking a question in return.

"I also want to ask you, what exactly is your relationship with them? Although the Shangqing Sect is considered one of the major sects, it is not wealthy. Why would they be willing to pay such a high price to poach you?"

"As I just said, I really don't know why. In fact, this is the first time I've ever met any of their disciples. I've only ever heard of their sect before."

"Really?"

"It's even more real than your virginity, Master."

"."

"."

After a brief silence, Old Man Li sighed in resignation.

"Forget it, I won't dwell on these things anymore. Anyway, you're my apprentice now—by the way, did those eight prominent Shanxi merchants come looking for you before?"

"Master, how did you know?"

Old Man Li suddenly grinned.

"They're just a bunch of flies chasing after filth, always jumping on the bandwagon of easy money. With the Qing Dynasty's ship sinking in the blink of an eye, they naturally have to find a new home for themselves in advance. Did they ask you to find Yuan Shikai?"

"Exactly."

Old Man Li laughed as if mocking.

"Indeed, there's no other choice but him. Alright, let's not think about it too much. Now that this matter is settled, let's go back."

After saying that, Old Man Li casually waved his hand, turned around, and led the way out of the alley.

—It's unusually quiet tonight. This place is quite different from the ghost market and the real market. In addition, there was that incident during the day, so there is no one to be seen in the gray town.

Even the omnipresent spirits had vanished without a trace, leaving only the footsteps of Zhou You and Old Man Li on the overgrown stone path.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou You suddenly spoke.

"—I'm telling you, Master."

"Well, what's wrong?"

"I've talked about myself for a while now, let's talk about you too."

Old Man Li did not turn around, but simply smiled.

What do I have to talk about?

Zhou You followed in his footsteps, smiling casually in return.

"Well, I've heard a lot about you, Master, along the way. According to them, you are a genius who can slay demons and monsters, and you were even the leader of this allied forces. How did you end up like this?"

Old Li did not answer or react excessively. His steps remained steady as always, and he simply walked forward slowly.

As the long street neared its end, it turned around again, and then he spoke.

"Actually, it's nothing much, just a pretty boring story. Do you want to hear it?"

"Now that we've come this far, what do you think?"

So Old Man Li stretched his limbs and slowly straightened his body.

This was the first time Zhou You had ever met him.

Perhaps it was because Gou Lou had been so formidable in the past that he only now realized that Old Man Li was about 1.78 meters tall. Although not particularly tall, he appeared exceptionally imposing under the moonlight for some reason.

Then, he slowly began to speak.

"That was quite many years ago. Your master was still young. Back then, Yu Sanzhi and I were known as the two greatest talents among the nine schools of thought. At that time, our White Clan was still in the south, so I was called the Southern Beggar, while he was always in charge of the north, hence the name Northern Beggar."

"Back then, our White Clan hadn't declined to this state. My master was still alive, and I had a childhood sweetheart, a junior sister."

Old Li looked at the moon overhead and spoke as if reminiscing.

"You don't need to guess anymore. That's right, back then, my junior sister and I were truly in love. We only needed our master's approval before we could discuss marriage. She's a good woman, and I always felt unworthy of her. Unfortunately, just when I was about to propose, a disturbance broke out in Huguang."

"Is it the time when you formed the Demon Extermination Alliance, Master?"

“That’s right.” Old Man Li nodded. “Back then, our Nine Schools were facing a talent shortage. The older generation hoped for a rising star to form an alliance, and I, Yu Sanzhi, was the frontrunner. Originally, Yaomei didn’t want me to go, but I couldn’t resist the arrogance of young people at the time, and I ultimately chose to compete for the alliance leader position.”

Old Li paused for a moment, then reached out and dispersed the swirling mist.

Then he continued, "Back then, everyone was arguing fiercely, just like today, turning the literary contest into a physical one. But in the end, your master was the better one. I used the Soul-Summoning Banner to knock Yu Sanzhi off the stage, and then naturally became the leader of the alliance. I guess Yu Sanzhi's current predicament is also related to that humiliation back then."

"—Then, just like you, the Eight Great Families came to me, intending to provide me with financial assistance."

Zhou You remained silent for a while, then suddenly spoke.

"Five drawbacks and three shortcomings?"

"That's right. At that time, my lack of money was already showing signs of trouble, but I thought the curse wasn't too severe. Besides, my marriage to Yao Mei would also require expenses, so I agreed and then led the army out."

There was another pause, and this time, Old Man Li remained silent for an exceptionally long time.

"That was a great evil spirit, its strangeness was almost as great as that city. When we arrived, it had already devoured nearly ten thousand lives. However, the major sects had not closed their mountains at that time. With their help, we made many sacrifices and finally suppressed the great evil spirit under the boundary marker."

"—However, just when I thought the dust had settled, I didn't discover that the chaos had one last law."

"That directly addresses cause and effect, following the law of killing through curses."

"Unfortunately, the money I received for the betrothal became the biggest loophole."

Old Li looked up at the sky, and unlike his heavy-hearted words, his face showed neither sorrow nor joy.

"I originally had a chance to get back, but unfortunately, Hua Niangzi was also affected. She's like a sister I've watched grow up, and I couldn't just stand by and watch her die. After rescuing her and returning home, all I found were three dismembered and mutilated corpses."

"—That's right. Although Yao didn't tell me, she was already pregnant with my unborn child at that time."

Zhou You didn't know how to respond, and in the end, he could only manage to utter one sentence.

"Please grief."

Old Li smiled and shook his head.

"So many years have passed, and we've already grieved for what we needed to. But I always wonder... if I had truly listened to Yao-mei back then and hadn't fought for this damn alliance leader position, would the outcome have been different?"

He looked at the moonlight, sighed softly, and then said again.

"So for all these years, I've hated myself, hated Junior Sister Hua, and hated everyone in this underworld. I'd rather spend my days as a hoodlum than get involved in this Ghost Market Conference again."

Zhou You suddenly spoke up at this moment.

"Then, Master, why did you come here again this time?"

Old Li continued walking, but his voice never stopped.

"It's very simple. First, that old lady went too far. She clearly wanted to drag the whole world down with her. Even if I were to degenerate further, I couldn't let her do something like what happened to Northern Qi."

"Secondly, I have heard that all the chaos and disorder in the world was caused by a deal between the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty and some unnamed external god."

"Although I no longer hate, there are some things I can't let go of. So at the very least, I want to avenge my betrothed wife and my unborn child."

As he spoke, Old Man Li turned to look at Zhou You again. His wrinkled old face remained the same, but it carried a strange smile.

"My apprentice, would you be willing to help your master this time?"

Zhou You remained silent for a while, then suddenly rolled his eyes.

“Master, didn’t I tell you this yesterday?”

"what?"

Zhou You explained earnestly.

"My initial goal was to bury this Qing Dynasty. My master and I were just passing by—I don't need to repeat that a third time, do I?"

Old Li was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Yes, that's right. Let's take our revenge on each other since we're going the same way."

"System notification: You have achieved the third mission objective: helping Li Xiangming fulfill the prerequisite for his destiny. You will now join him on the battlefield in Beijing."

"You have completed the second objective of the task: Everyone needs to have some goals; choose your purpose carefully."

"You have chosen to be an enemy of the Qing Dynasty."

"The Qing Dynasty's current regard for you is: to fight to the death."

"The current ruler of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi, is also the instigator of this script's corruption and will do everything in her power to kill you."

"The disparity in strength between us is significant, so please make thorough preparations."

A few days later, everything was ready.

It was the same hall, but the bloodstains had been washed away. This time, Zhou You sat in the head seat, while hundreds of pairs of eyes waited below.

Although so many people died before, the number of people has increased instead of decreased because all parties have gathered their disciples. Now everyone is watching Zhou You and waiting for an answer.

The person didn't seem to be nervous at all.

He looked at those people, then glanced back around.

Old Man Li, Hanlu, Lady Hua, Cangle, and even Xiao Dushui, who held a high position, all seemed to take it for granted that they would accompany him and wait for his orders.

—This is the final battle.

So
Zhou You suddenly laughed.

He tapped on the table to get everyone's attention, then stood up.

"Everyone, first of all, thank you for gathering here and giving me, Zhou, face. But unfortunately, I'm not very good with words and have never given a speech in my life, so I can't give any impassioned mobilization here."

No one spoke; everyone was watching him.

Zhou You smiled calmly as usual.

Looking around, I saw a variety of meanings in those gazes.

Anticipation, fear, doubt, hatred
but.

What does this have to do with me?

"I know that you all probably don't believe me, a complete stranger, but honestly, whether you believe me or not, what's done is done, and there's nothing more to dwell on."

"I just wanted to say one thing."

"The one on the dragon throne wants to kill us, wants to drag the entire world down with her broken dynasty. I ask you, are you willing to just throw your lives away, even taking your families, your friends and relatives, your children, and roll into that cesspool with this madwoman?"

He looked at everyone, and everyone was looking at him.

"—Of course, you don't want to."

"Of course I don't want to either."

"So, with things having gone this far, is there anyone still who wants to object?"

This time, there were no objections whatsoever.

So, someone clapped their hands.

Words may be as light as a feather, but their content is as heavy as Mount Tai.

"So, as I said, all we have to do now is just one thing."

"That means getting rid of that Empress Dowager and overthrowing this damned Qing Dynasty—"

(End of this chapter)